Biography

Herma Bauma was Austria's first Olympic champion in track and field, winning the javelin throw at the 1948 Olympics. She had already competed in 1936, narrowly missing the bronze medal. She threw a world record on two occasions (1947 and 1948), and won the silver medal at the 1950 European Championships. She won 18 Austrian titles, 15 in the javelin throw, as follows: 1931-1934, 1936, 1937, 1941-1943, 1946-1950, and 1952 â additionally she won the 1942 German title and was third in 1943 after the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich; and also three pentathlon titles ([100-SP-LJ-HJ-JT], 1932-33 and 1947).

Bauma was also an excellent handball player, winning Austrian titles and placing second at the 1949 World Championships. She retired from competition following the 1952 Helsinki Games, but was educated as a sports teacher and remained involved in sports by leading the federal sport center near Vienna. In 1984 she received the Olympic Order in Silver and in 1996 the Golden Merit of the Republic of Austria.

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